Llywelyn Cremona: We knew it was going to be difficult.

Maltese giants, Valletta played Serbian side, Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday night in their UEFA Champions League second qualifying round.

The Lily Whites lost 2-1 as Red Star fought back from being 1-0 down.

Llywelyn Lui Cremona in action for Valletta.

Federico Falcone gave Valletta the lead after 32 minutes of play but the striker had to be substituted seven minutes later due to an injury. This saw Santiago Malano come on as his replacement.

Aleksandar Katai scored Red Star’s equaliser in the 65th minute which was followed by Predrag Sikimić’s 75th minute winner.

The Citizens’ next meeting with Red Star is next Tuesday as the second leg is played in Serbia.

Valletta forward, Llywelyn Cremona commented on the fixture saying, “We knew it was going to be difficult as Red Star have a much bigger budget and the players are all professional.

“We also knew that last year they had an amazing season but, at the end of the day, football is played on the pitch and I think we did our best.

“There were occasions during the game which changed the whole story, especially the disallowed goal for offside.”

In terms of preparation Cremona went on to say: “I think preparation will still be the same and I think that we will be doing our best to achieve something from the second leg.”

Valletta’s Llywelyn Cremona

The former 2012 U17 Player of the Year finished by looking at Valletta’s main target for next season, “I think every year our main target at Valletta will always be winning the title, but obviously there will be 11 other teams competing and you have to see what will happen during the season.”